Port Commission elects 2011 officers

Blaine Sheets of Ascension Parish was among recently elected officers for the board of commissioners for the Port of Greater Baton Rouge recently elected officers of 2011. Sheets was named secretary of the commission.

Officers elected include Larry Johnson, West Baton Rouge, president; Jerald Juneau, East Baton Rouge, vice president; Tim Hardy, East Baton Rouge, treasurer.

Johnson, who was elected president, has served as a port commissioner representing West Baton Rouge Parish since 1992 and also served three previous terms as president of the port commission in 1996, 2002, and 2006. He is a general contractor and a former councilman of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council.

Johnson is an active community member.  He is chair of the proposed Hwy1 and Hwy 415 connector route in West Baton Rouge Parish, and has been involved in obtaining funding for a number of port capital improvements.

Johnson has served as a port commissioner representing West Baton Rouge Parish since 1992.  He has served three terms as president of the port commission. He has also served as a councilman for the West Baton Rouge Parish Council.

 “The port is an asset to the entire area and has tremendous potential to create jobs and investment in the port jurisdiction.” Johnson said.  During his presidency, he said said he plans to continue building upon the assets of the port and place emphasis in 2011 on strategic planning for future port growth.

Juneau, vice president, is the former deputy secretary-treasurer for the Louisiana Teachers Retirement system. He is also a retired United States Army Colonel. Gov. Jindal appointed Juneau to the commission on Sept. 29, 2008.

Timothy W. Hardy, secretary, East Baton Rouge, is the managing partner at Lemle Kelleher, LLP. From 1982 to 1988, he served as an assistant attorney general in the Louisiana Department of Justice in the Environmental Enforcement Section.  In 1988, he was appointed by former Gov. Buddy Roemer to serve as assistant secretary for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. He also currently serves as an adjunct professor teaching Environmental Law at the Southern University Law Center.

Sheets, treasurer, was appointed to the commission by Jindal in 1998. Sheets is the president of Specialized Industrial Maintenance and is a former member of the Board of Commissioners for the Pontchartrain Levee District.

The port governance body is a 15-member commission appointed by Governor Jindal.  The port commission's responsibilities are to establish policy and provide oversight into the port's development. Port commissioners are selected from the four parishes served by the port.

The Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission oversees 85 miles of the Mississippi River.  The port is ranked 14th in the United States in total tonnage, handling over 51,809,486  million short tons of cargo annually while providing access to mid-America through the U.S. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the upper Mississippi River system. 

For more information on the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, visit www.portgbr.com.